Category Archives: Waste Stream

El Buffet de Viernes

Yes, I’m blogging on location from beautiful, hot Santiago. You’ll be glad to hear that I’ve decided against blogging in Spanish!¡ I recently walked by a Santiago market after it had closed and noticed a vendor was still there, doing something odd. I went by to have a look and she was cutting the tops off strawberries, […]

January 29, 2010 | Also posted in College, Friday Buffet, International, School | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

In case you were wondering, here’s what Almeda County, i.e. Oakland, thinks about food scrap recycling — — According to this piece from Australia, one-third of Queensland bananas are graded out because they don’t meet supermarkets’ specifications. Crikey! Words of wisdom, from Australia’s head banana man: “I think perhaps years ago when most Australians had […]

January 8, 2010 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, General, International | Comments closed

Going Gratis

Imagine a life without any spending. Is it even possible? Apparently it is if you live in Britain, where squatters have some rights. I found this piece about living for free in London totally engrossing. The article comments on the disposable nature of British, and really Western, society. And of course, a big part of that is food. The author, Katharine Hibbert […]

January 4, 2010 | Also posted in Freegan, International | Comments closed

“Def” Visit

I’m now back in the USSR after a great trip to England. One of the highlights of my UK visit was getting an hour with Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for the Environment. In that role, he heads Defra, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. In addition to being quite down to […]

December 14, 2009 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Thanksgiving Wrap

Washington’s King County (home of Seattle) is pushing the envelope on food waste collection. Why should Thanksgiving be any different? Monday, a neighborhood in Renton, Wash., dumped turkey carcasses and other Thanksgiving leftovers in a public location as part of a composting demo organized by the County recycling team. I’m guessing the county carted away […]

December 2, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, History and Culture | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

Really? Planned food fights as birthday party entertainment? That’s the best you can do? There is an interested skirmish in the comments section, but to throw another 2 cents in, I’d say there are environmental and ethical implications to wasting food as opposed to money. — — Howard County, Md, is rocking recess before lunch […]

November 20, 2009 | Also posted in Friday Buffet, History and Culture, International, School | Comments closed

Quebec Steps Up

While Britain announced that it will ban food waste from landfills, notre amis in Quebec just announced a plan to do the same by 2013. Part of the impetus for the move came from Québécois policymakers’ realization that the province wouldn’t be able to meet its goal of composting 60% of food waste by 2012. […]

November 18, 2009 | Also posted in International | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

First BOGOFL, then lagom. Am I going insane? Possibly, but these aren’t indications of that, just ideas from the world of food waste reduction. To follow up on the Buy One Get One Free-Later idea, a poorly-worded survey found that 58 percent believe the ability to get the free item later would reduce supermarket waste. But…the idea is aimed […]

October 30, 2009 | Also posted in College, Friday Buffet, International, Supermarket, Trayless | Comments closed

Friday Buffet

In addition to being my brother’s birthday, Saturday is (the) International Climate Day of Action. 350.org, has issued this call to action to get our atmospheric CO2 below 350 parts per million. It’s imperative stuff. You can find local events on the site, and don’t forget that reducing food waste helps the environment, too. — […]

October 23, 2009 | Also posted in Composting, Friday Buffet, History and Culture, Restaurant | Comments closed

Thou Shalt Compost

Happy Mandatory Composting Day! Wednesday marks the much anticipated (at least on this blog) debut of San Francisco’s non-elective composting program. All households and businesses must participate in the 3-bin system, one of which is a green cart for food scraps and other organics. The preparations for this day have been rather feverish, recently, and […]

October 21, 2009 | Also posted in Composting | Comments closed